Responses to support groups for family caregivers in schizophrenia: who benefits from what?

With increasing focus on community-based mental health services, family caregivers require and deserve professional support. The aim of the paper is to provide information useful to mental health professionals planning to run support groups for family caregivers in chronic mental illness. The data presented here combine qualitative information with quantitative information. From 36 group members who were caring for a relative with schizophrenia, eight were selected with extreme positions on four intake dimensions: (i) length of time since patient's diagnosis; (ii) amount of carer-patient contact; (iii) level of psychological distress; and (iv) level of rejecting attitudes to the patient. Differences in the responses of these individuals to the group meetings, as shown by their comments on both short and long-term effects, suggest how meetings, as shown by their comments on both short and long-term effects, suggest how groups might be selected and structured for maximum effectiveness. While all carers wanted better mental health rehabilitation services, accurate information regarding their relatives' illness and respect from mental health professionals, their length of experience as carers fundamentally affected their responsiveness to the discussion topics.